Welcome, everyone, to another edition of Author's Corner. I've been busy making preparations for the Va. Book Festival in March. As I mentioned last month, I'm hosting a dealer's table at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Va. on March 27th. This gives me an opportunity to meet a variety of readers and introduce them to my trilogy. Hosting a table is much more personal for me versus participating on a panel. I enjoy having my own forums for discussion. I'll be attending signings at the Waldenbooks in Charlottesville and the Barnes & Noble in Lynchburg as well. Those dates will be available soon.

I recently received an invitation via my publisher to attend an event at a country club in Floral Park, New York on June 25th. They host a monthly "Meet the Author" session and I was fortunate enough to receive an invite. I expect to have a signing or two in that area as well. I'll have additional details on that event next month as well.

In December, I started a new program where I would contact several school districts and offer Fractured Time for review. If the school board finds it acceptable, then they would place it on their summer reading list or their required reading in the classroom. This is a lengthy process because the staff members involved in the selection process must read it first, to see if it meets their criteria. If they approve of it, the school board is asked to give their consent as well. This is a great opportunity to introduce science fiction to students at the high school level. In addition, they have the opportunity to correspond with me via e-mail with questions or comments about Fractured Time or just writing in general.

While doing a signing in Exton's Barnes & Noble last year, a young lady made this suggestion to me and I placed it on the back burner for a while. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It's a novel enjoyed by readers of all ages and it gives me a chance to share what I've learned about the literary world. If she's reading this, I'd like to thank her for her idea and encouragement.

I've selected a number of school districts in areas where I'll be visiting this year. In some cases, I may have an opportunity to visit the students during the school year. In other cases, I may get to meet them at signings or festivals in their area. Some of the areas are in Virginia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Delaware. I expect to add others in the near future. I have an allotment of books dedicated for this program where I can offer them at a reduced rate for this cause. This is a reward for the initial groups of school districts to participate in my program.

The release of Dark Horizon is drawing closer. I chose iUniverse to publish Dark Horizon in both hardback and softback. They will also be picking up the second edition of Fractured Time and a softback version as well. I expect later in the summer to have Twisted Fate in the iUniverse fold as well. I'm moving on to some new projects. I expect to begin writing the screenplay for Twisted Fate in the near future. I've started a new novel which will begin a new series. I hope to have this novel ready for next spring but we'll see how things progress. I like to keep my novels a year apart because readers get hooked on the characters and want more. I always hated to wait for the next book in a series to hit the shelves.

This month, for my writers' tip, I'd like to talk about character selection when starting a story. The purpose of designing characters for your story is to attract your audience. Ask yourself, who am I targeting to read my story? When I designed the characters for Fractured Time, I wanted a science fiction story that would entertain everyone. Billy Brock represents most males.

We aren't McGuyvers or Valentinos, even though we like to think so sometimes. Billy tries to do the right thing on several occasions but we all know that, in real life, things don't always work out the way we want. Penny, on the other hand, is high maintenance because of the bad luck she's had with men. She wants things her way.

Unfortunately, she doesn't always understand what's going on. You either feel sorry for her or want to slap the daylights out of her. These are two examples of characters designed to evoke an emotional response from the readers.

How do you know the number of characters to use? Look at the big picture. Each one needs to have a purpose. Sometimes we include a few extras as filler for a particular scene and we have them disappear shortly after. If you choose to do this, make them contribute something to the story, whether it's a laugh, a threat or something to coerce your main characters into doing something.

In Fractured Time, Billy's encounter with Faye in the city is a turning point in his life. He finally breaks the strings to Charlene, his ex-girlfriend. His experience with Faye is liberating because they both filled a need without being obligated for more than they could handle.

Billy realized that a relationship isn't meant to be a chore, but an uplifting experience. He now sees Penny in a different light. But Faye is only there for a brief period. She accomplished her goal as a character and moved on. Think of ripple effects with your characters.

Everything that happens should indirectly affect the others. Ronnie and Randy torment Billy to no end. He's confused over their behavior and wonders, is it real or are they toying with him, emotionally. But the brief moment Billy shares with Randy in the basement of the pub has a ripple effect for Randy. In Twisted Fate, we find that she bears a cross from her previous life. It's like a pyramid effect.

In science fiction, it's very difficult to come up with a new and never before seen villain or threat, so it's critical to use the characters to separate your story from others. Use your characters wisely and make the impact you need for the whole story, not just one chapter.

- Michael D'Ambrosio

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